Editorial: Sporting talent bubbling to surface

Mark Dawson, Editor of Wanganui Chronicle

WHAT a fabulous few days for sport in Whanganui ...

It was blue-and-blacks and black-and-blues (and read all over in the Chronicle).

It started with Girls' College teacher and all-round sporting whiz Kristina Sue being named in the Black Ferns squad for the two tests against Australia.

Having made her mark in the New Zealand touch and sevens team, she is now within touching distance of the pinnacle of rugby -- pulling on the black jersey to face the old foe.

That bit of news was quickly followed up with another "black" moment -- hockey star Martin Atkinson being elevated to the Black Sticks squad.

Having worked his way up through the junior ranks in Whanganui, the 22-year-old Atkinson has been in fine form in New Zealand's national league and playing in Australia, fully deserving his call-up to the national side.

Next up was the latest step in the rise of teenage first five-eighths Stephen Perofeta who learned at the weekend he had landed a professional contract with the Blues. The former Steelform Wanganui star will join Tama Umaga's Super Rugby franchise in Auckland for the upcoming season.

And rounding things out nicely, we have Cullinane College's Adam Boult picked in the New Zealand touch under-18 mixed squad (see Page 24) and, of course, the Butcher's Boys going unbeaten through the regular Heartland Championship rugby season and heading to a home semifinal against Wairarapa Bush next Saturday.

It's all enough to make you want to pull on the old boots again.